5. Sea Islands Hurricane (1893) -- Storm surge killed the majority of the 1,000 to 2,000 people estimated to have died in this Category 3 storm that made landfall in Savannah, Ga.

4. Cheniere Caminada Hurricane (1893) -- Also known as the Great October Storm, this Category 4 hurricane devastated the Louisiana island of Chenière Caminada. An estimated 1,100 to 1,400 people died.

3. Hurricane Katrina (2005) -- More than 1,200 people died in this Category 3 storm that devastated the Gulf Coast, breaching the levees and flooding most of New Orleans for days.

2. Okeechobee Hurricane (1928) -- In South Florida, at least 2,500 were killed when a storm surge from Lake Okeechobee breached the dike surrounding the lake, flooding an area covering hundreds of square miles.

1. Great Galveston Hurricane (1900) -- An estimated 8,000 people died in this Category 4 storm that devastated eastern Texas. So many people died that corpses were piled onto carts for burial at sea.